please tell me I am not the only parent that has a kid that does this , lol?

Question

Ok my daughter is 2 1/2 yrs old. Most of the time she is an excellent eater. Sometimes... she get a mouthful of food (usually meat) and chews it til its practically liquid and then spits it back out on her plate! I am just curious if there are other mothers out there that have had their kid do this and what you did to get them to stop. She doesnt usually do this, is she just playing, maybe? She doesnt spit it at me or her daddy, thank goodness lmao

A.G. first, could ya be more specific about how exactly am i to punish her?and actually if you havent had experience with the situation with your own child(ren) then I dont want to hear it TY

samnbuds > yep I've asked her why, she just looks at me and laughs...
to others> it cant be that she doesnt like it, because she will eat the same exact stuff some days without any problems at all.. There is no grisel(sp?) or fat on her pieces either.
Good idea to not pay no mind to it though, that makes sense, ty

oh and of course if she doesnt eat her dinner, she gets no dessert.

Answer 1

Don't listen to the idiots saying she should be smacked/punished. Yes, it's possible to teach table manners at her age, but punishing is not always the answer. She's a little girl, and while telling her that it's not appropriate to do that is fine, there's no need to be all over her about it!
That said, of course you aren't the only parent whose child has done this! When my son was 18 months - 2 years old, he did it a lot. They're just exploring, really. Tell her to stop if you want, but there's no need to make a huge deal out of it. She's just being a normal kid.

Answer 2

I think she is just finding that after the normal amount of chewing, it is still too fiberous for her to swallow it and she decides it is not going to work - so she dumps it. Try figuring out if smaller pieces or cutting thinly across the grain will help. You could also try a food processor, The only other idea I have for you is that this chewing is harder than some and she is having some dental issues - if it does not look like a chewing thing, take her to the dentist. She could also be fatiguing her jaw or making it sore or tired by chewing something else during the day or resting with her hands or something else propped under her lower jaw .

Answer 3

I AM NEVER AMAZED AT WHAT A 2 YEAR OLD WILL DO.
I think it's anything that will shock you. The best thing you can do it ignore it. If she gets a response she will do it again when she needs to shock you.

It's OK to tell here that is not nice behavior and you are disappointed that she would do that. Ask her why she did it. It it tasted bad show her to put it in a paper towel.

When the new wears off this behavior she will have developed another one.

Answer 4

My (almost 2 y/o) daughter has been doing the same thing for about 3 months now. The only difference is she generally does when she either doesn't like this particular bite (of something she has eaten several bites of), or you offer her something else. Last night for example, she was eating some crackers while I was baking cookies. I asked her if she wanted one. I didn't realize she had chewed up cracker in her mouth. She spit it out and reached for the cookie. She'll do this with anything. You can be giving her the same thing she has in her mouth and she'll spit it out for the new bite.

Answer 5

Don't make a big deal out of it.. She is only 2 1/2 yrs old. I haven't experienced anything like this with my children.. It could be a texture thing with her. Is it with all meats? LOL My daughter is 4 she peals the cheese off her pizza and licks the sauce off the pizza crust then eats crust and cheese.. I don't know where she learned this from either!

Good Luck

Answer 6

My daughter is the same age and does the same thing. What we do at home is just ignore her. I tell her the first time that she does it that is not how we behave at the table and if she continues to do that than we are going to ignore her. She usually does it a couple more times than realizes that she's not getting the reaction that she's looking for and stops.
I beleive that the more you make a big deal out of it the more she's going to do it.

Answer 7

Maybe she just can't gey it chewed to a comfortable enough consistency to swallow. People do that occasionally, including kids. Note the consistency of the foods she does this with and see what they have in common. When I was a child I hated chewing meat or any food that would stick between my teeth, it drove my Mother nuts. I wouldn't worry, I'm 37 and I've managed just fine. I just keep floss pics handy.

Answer 8

she is testing the food. Its not that she doesnt like it, she is only 2 1/2 so food is still new to her. Be firm in letting her know that it is not an acceptable act but still let her experiment in her own way with meat. Believe it or not she is still getting the nutrients from the food while she is chewing. Since the meat is a fairly new food to her she might also have a slight fear of swallowing, what i mean is that she may have a very sensitive gag reflex that makes her feel as though she is choking when she tries to swallow the meat. You might try softening it up before giving it to her or just chopping it up to a very fine texture.

Answer 9

Both my kids have done it! My daughter is the worst though. She is 3 and she will tuck food in her cheek and just let it sit there!!! LOL.. I have to constantly check her mouth. One day she stuck some chicken in there and I didn't find it until bedtime!! I wouldn't punish her though. Sometimes kids like the flavor of something and not the texture... hope it helps!

Answer 10

She's just experimenting and just tell her not to do it that her food is to be chewed and swallowed not spit out. Then if you see her going to do it just tell her don't do it or you will get down from the table. If she does it give her a spot in the corner. If she swallowes it say thank you and dont pay anmore attention to it than that.

My son did it too! LOL